Lyrics

NO NAME

Jephthah was my father
A soldier and commander
Jephthah was a gambler
And like gamblers everywhere
He made a deal with G-d
Defeat my enemies
Give me this victory
That was his prayer
And in return he offered up
The first to meet him at his door
When the goats came out to greet him
As he marched home from his war

I am his daughter
His only daughter
No sisters, and no brothers
After all this time
I love my father
So I danced out to the gate
I came to celebrate him
But I found him crying
‘Cause he’d vowed to surrender
The first to meet his eyes
And now his only child
Would be that sacrifice.

And I would have no name
‘Cause I would have no life
‘Cause I wouold never be a mother
I’d be no man’s wife
And I would have no heirs
And he would have the same
But more important
I’d have no name.

©2019 Artsong Music (BMI)

So I went up to the hills
With all the other virgins
We sang laments and dirges
And raised up our voices
And the men tell the tale
Of Jephthah’s righteous glory
But the women know that story
And that I had no choice
And sometimes they gather
To mourn my pain
And they weep for Jephthah’s daughter
And her forgotten name.

Because I had no name
‘Cause I had no life
‘Cause I never was a mother
I was no man’s wife
And I had no heirs
Despite my father’s fame
But more important
I had no name.

I had no heirs
Let that be my father’s shame
And from that day to this one
I have no name.

©2019 Artsong Music (BMI)